


Unconscious

by yankeetooter



Category: Chernobyl (TV 2019)
Genre: M/M, Unconsciousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-11-28 15:51:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20969108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yankeetooter/pseuds/yankeetooter
Summary: Many people know Valery's suicide was actually his second attempt.  In this story, Boris finds him after his first attempt.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober prompt
> 
> Based on Chernobyl HBO
> 
> No disrespect meant to the real life people.
> 
> Studies have found that even when unconscious, a person can still hear the people around them.

Valery laid in the hospital bed, totally despondent. It had been sixteen months since the explosion at Chernobyl and three months since the trial where he had sealed his fate by telling the truth. 

Three months since he'd seen Boris.

Three lonely months of exile.

Valery was done. He simply did not want to live anymore. It wasn't the radiation affecting his body. Like Boris he had made his peace with it, and, as Boris had said on that walk more than a year ago, they'd gotten off easy. 

It wasn't the rejection of his articles, warning of the changes that simply must happen. He'd half expected that after the lack of reaction from his fellow scientists at the fateful trial. No, that stung, but even that he could deal with.

It wasn't even the loss of his position at the Kurchatov Institute, or the promotion that should have been his. Or the shunning of his co-workers, his colleagues. He'd never been that popular, so it wasn't as hard to take as it might have been for someone else.

No, it was the fact that he no longer had contact with Boris. No longer had the choice of picking up the phone and hearing his voice. Of inviting him to dinner, or being invited to his place. He'd known that when Chernobyl was done they'd not be able to see each other every day. Maybe once a week so as not to raise suspicions. But this? No.

And without Boris in his life, everything else was too much. And so, Valery had started stashing his sleeping pills while in the hospital. Boris had taught him how to lie, and it was an easy matter to fool the nurse into thinking he was taking them.

Tonight was the night. He figured he had enough pills to do the trick, and then tonight was the last night he would have to feel the emptiness of not having Boris around. There would be no more heartache, no more tortured dreams where he caught glimpses of Boris or heard his voice for brief moments. No, in about thirty minutes when the shift changed, Valery would put an end to all the pain.

________________

Boris walked the long hospital corridors, trying to find Valery's room. He had thought he would need to bribe the person at the desk, but there had been some sort of emergency in the E.R. so that it had been a simple matter to reach over the desk and look through the records for what he needed. Now he just had to keep a low profile until he could find Valery.

He shouldn't be here of course, but when he'd gotten wind of Valery being here, he'd decided to take advantage of the fact. After all, if anybody caught him in Valery's room, he could just claim that he had been at the hospital visiting someone and happened to see Valery.

He rounded the corner...ah, there it was, room A5. He tried not to think about the weird coincidence too much. He popped his head in the door, wanting to surprise Valery if he could, but he didn't see him. Maybe the bathroom? But the door was ajar and the bathroom clearly empty. So where? 

Walking around the bed, he got the answer to his question. Valery was laying on the floor! Had he fallen? 

Boris' alarm cranked up another notch when Valery did not respond to Boris softly calling his name. Boris knelt by him and patted his cheek vigorously, trying to bring him around.

No response, and Valery was a light sleeper. Boris lifted an eyelid, but Valery's eyes were rolled back in his head. Then he saw them. A few stray pills were lying on the floor near Valery's hand. No! Oh no!

"Nurse! Medic! Help!"

__________________

Valery was nearly comatose, drifting in a fog that pulled him further in by the moment. He felt no pain. He felt no anything. If this was death, or the approach of it, it was not scary at all.

Then he heard a voice...Boris! Was he here too? Had he died then? And Boris? He had had at most a year according to the doctors, and that had been three months ago. Had he declined quicker than expected?

He tried to see through the fog. He wanted to see Boris! He'd never believed in an afterlife, but if there was life after death, and Boris was there? Oh!

When he couldn't find Boris, he tried calling out for him. Except, his voice wouldn't work, no matter how hard he tried. This was no good! What if Boris missed him in the fog? They might never find each other! Once again he tried to fight through the fog, but his body seemed unable to move and the fog seemed to be thickening. And still he could hear Boris' pleading voice, "Valera! Valera!"

______________

"Keep talking to him! An unconscious person can often still hear someone talking to him."

Boris nodded at the medic's direction, continuing to call Valery's name.

"C'mon, Valera, wake up! Valera, don't you leave me! Valera, wake up!"

Boris didn't care what the medic might think, or who he might report to later. He didn't care that tears were flowing freely down his face, landing on Valery's cheeks. He only cared that Valery wasn't waking up, that he had to wake up. He had to! After all this time of trying to find an opportunity to see him, to have it be too late! No, it just couldn't be!

The medic was trying to reassure him. "He can't have taken that many pills. According to the records, he would have only had ten pills to save for this attempt, and there's a couple on the floor. Keep talking to him."

Boris wanted to backhand the guy. What did he think he was doing? But he kept focusing on Valery, kept talking to him.

_______________

Boris was still calling his name. And he seemed closer, his voice as close as if he was in front of him. The fog was lightening too.

Slowly Valery opened his eyes. Above him was the ceiling, a lot of it blocked out by Boris kneeling above him. And everything came rushing back...Oh! Boris was going to be so mad!

The next moment he was caught up in an embrace that threatened to break ribs.

"Boris...Boris! I can't breathe!"

Boris eased up. He pulled back and looked Valery in the eyes. "Valera, why...why would you do such a thing?" 

Boris was crying? "I...I couldn't, couldn't bear being away from you anymore, Borya! It was too much! I didn't even know if you were still...if you had..."

Boris nodded, rescuing Valery from having to finish his morbid thought. "I'm sorry, Valera! I tried so hard to get in touch with you, but they had you isolated quite effectively. And I didn't want to endanger you... although perhaps I shouldn't have worried so much about that." This last statement was said more sternly, like the Boris he knew.

"Listen to me, Valera, promise me you'll never have such thoughts again! Promise me! It would have killed me, do you hear? More surely than any radiation!"

Valery nodded sheepishly. "I promise, Borya. And I'm sorry."

Boris pulled Valery back into his arms. "I'll figure something out, Valera. I promise."


	2. Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charkov gets revenge for Boris' visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whumptober prompt
> 
> Continuation of Unconscious, at the prompting of a friend on Tumblr.
> 
> This chapter is NOT canon.

Boris blinked at the older gentleman before him. Could it be?

Igor Slavensky, who he had served with in the Winter War? Whose life he had saved by rescuing him from behind enemy lines? Who was now working for the KGB, apparently.

"Boris, it's so good to see you! I owe you my life, Comrade. If there's anything I can do for you... I mean anything!

Boris looked at Igor thoughtfully. Could he trust him? 

Igor seemed to sense his doubt. "Look, I get it. You don't trust KGB, nor should you. But, Boris, I know the situation with you and your friend. Charkov is spitting nails about your visit to the hospital! I'd be on the lookout for him doing something if I was you."

Boris stiffened. That damn medic! He had talked! "Igor, you have my eternal thanks. Could you let me know if you hear anything more about the situation?"

"That I will, Boris! I wouldn't even be alive if not for you!"

_______________

Two weeks later, at Valery's apartment...

Valery had recovered from his attempted overdose nicely. He was back home but still struggling to keep his spirits up. Seeing Boris had been just what he needed, but when would he see him again? Boris had promised to find a way, but how was he going to manage it? No matter...he had made a promise and he intended to keep it.

A small noise outside the door had him listening intently. Could it be Boris? So soon? The next moment his hopes were shattered as the door crashed open, and Charkov and a handful of his agents entered.

Oh no! What was happening?

____________

Boris was in his office when Igor called him. Of course, Igor didn't identify himself by name, only as an old comrade from the war. But Boris recognized his voice.

"Comrade, those tomatoes that the store rarely gets in? Well, the store has some now. You'd better get over there and get some before it's too late!"

"Thanks, Comrade! Please call my daughter and let her know as well." Boris hung up. The KGB were headed to Valery's and he was across town. He'd have to hurry! Igor would call a medic to go over there too, according to the code they'd set up.

_________________

Charkov set one agent to guard the door. The other three agents he directed to restrain Valery. They threw him down roughly and pinned him spread-eagled to the floor.

Charkov produced a wickedly sharp knife and knelt by the struggling Valery. "So, Legasov, it seems neither you nor Shcherbina could abide by your isolation. So now you will have to pay, and so, I suspect, will he."

At that, he took the knife and sliced each of Valery's wrists, Valery crying out in agony. 

"Now, I have not cut very deep, so it should take at least thirty minutes before you bleed out and die. I could have done a more efficient job, but, in case you think I don't know my business, I'll explain why I didn't. First, as I see you're already finding out, the pain is excruciating. We wouldn't want you to miss out on a single moment of pain, would we? Secondly, one of my men will be placing a call to Shcherbina in a moment, alerting him to the fact that you have attempted suicide once again. With any luck, he'll get here before you breathe your last, but too late to save you. You'll get to see his disappointment in you that you couldn't keep your promise to him. And witness his pain at watching you die. If he doesn't make it here in time, you'll miss out on all that, but you'll die alone, very painfully, and you'll never see your friend again."

Looking up, Charkov indicated the others could go. "He's not going anywhere at this point.". (And indeed Valery was writhing in pain, nearly passed out from the sight of all his blood.) "Take the car, stop at the nearest phone, and call Shcherbina. Then leave the area. I'll catch a taxi momentarily.

The other men left. Charkov leaned over Valery, grabbing his chin roughly and forcing him to look him in the face.

"You see, Legasov, men always think they can thwart the KGB. They think they are better, but they forget. The KGB always wins. It really is a shame you and Shcherbina couldn't have followed the rules. I might even have relented and let you see him on Christmas."

Charkov stood up and watched Valery for a few more minutes. How delicious that Shcherbina would be convinced that Valery had slit his wrists. The pain would kill Shcherbina for sure.

He turned to go and had just neared the doorway when the door imploded. Before he could react, Boris had his hands around Charkov's throat Seeing Valery's state, Boris twisted his wrists almost casually, snapping Charkov's neck and dropping his lifeless body to the floor.

For the second time in a month, Boris knelt by Valery, pleading with him to stay conscious. 

Valery, barely sensing Boris through the pain, implored his friend. "Boris, it wasn't me. I didn't do it. I kept my promise, I swear!"

Boris spoke through the sobs shaking his whole body. "I know it, Valera. Hang in there. Help should be here soon.". He clamped his hands over Valery's wrists, staunching the blood flow as much as possible.

Moments later, the medic arrived. He placed a tourniquet on both of Valery's upper arms, then stitched up the knife wounds once the bleeding stopped. "He'll be okay, Deputy Chairman. He'll be really weak for a few days, but he'll survive."

Boris grabbed the man and embraced him in a bear hug, tears still pouring down his face. Picking up Valery, he carried him to his car and took him to his dacha, where the two could be alone, and Valery could recover.

_______________

That evening, Boris called Gorbachev at home.

"Boris, where are you? The Kremlin's in an uproar! They're saying you killed Charkov! And Igor Slavensky, one of his men, is telling me Charkov slit Valery's wrists to fake his suicide? You need to come in immediately and report."

"Mikhail, I can't. I'm taking care of Valery and he can't be alone right now. If you want to send men to arrest me, go ahead, but they'll have to shoot me before I leave him."

"Okay, Boris, I'm not having you shot. But what happened? Did you kill Charkov like they said you did?"

"I did, with good reason. Again, do what you want, but leave Valery alone!". Boris told Gorbachev everything, who listened in stunned silence.

"Boris, I'm going to cover for you as much as I can, but you have to keep your mouth shut too. I'll take care of the thing with Charkov. You lay low while I figure things out. You are probably going to lose your position over this. I need to do something to placate the KGB. But they'll leave you alone on my orders. They won't want the scandal about Charkov getting out."

"Take my job if you must, Mikhail. My health is failing as it is, but.. "

"Legasov? You win, Boris. I'm not lifting the ruling against him. He's not going to get any awards or credit, and he'll have to leave Kurchatov, but, as long as the two of you keep a low profile, I'll leave you be. Stay at your dacha. Retire quietly. But if you make any sort of fuss about all this...."

"You won't have to worry about that, Mikhail. And, thank you."

Boris hung up the phone and went to share the good news with Valery.


	3. Don't Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boris tells Valery how things are going to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next whumptober prompt and final chapter in the Unconscious ficlet.

Boris entered their bedroom where Valery sat drowsily in bed. He plopped down beside Valery and took the scientist's hands in his.

"Who was that on the phone, Borja?' Valery asked, stifling a yawn. The next moment all signs of sleepiness left when Boris told him.

"Gorbachev?!". Jumping up, "We have to get out of here! They'll come for us!"

Boris pushed Valery gently but firmly back into bed, a task much easier than it would normally have been due to Valery's recent blood loss. Valery may have still been weak, but his spirit was undaunted, so that he kept struggling to rise until, finally, Boris pinned him down and said sternly, "Don't move!"

Somewhat cowed, Valery lay still, but persisted in protesting. Boris leaned forward and kissed him deeply, Valery relaxing into the kiss.

Boris chuckled. "Who knew after all this time that there was a foolproof way to get you to be quiet? If only I'd known at that first meeting in Moscow, I would have kissed you like that in front of everyone!"

Valery opened his mouth to protest that nobody would have been aware of the seriousness of Chernobyl if Boris had done that, but then finally he saw the humor at the thought of Boris planting a huge kiss on him in front of Gorbachev and Charkov..

At the thought of Charkov, Valery quickly went silent. Boris quickly followed his train of thought. "Valerka, you don't ever have to worry about that man again."

Valery looked up, hope warring with skepticism on his face. "But Borja, how can you know that? You know he is determined to take us down!"

Boris cupped Valery's face in his hands. "He's dead, Valera." He looked down, unable to meet his love's eyes.

"Borja?" Sudden understanding bloomed on Valery's face. "You...?"

Boris nodded. "I'm not proud of what I did. I've killed men before, but it was during the war. Never in cold blood. But, make no mistake, I would do it again. When I saw you lying on the floor..." Boris could go no further, a sob choking any further attempt at speaking 

Valery wrapped his arms around Boris and held him tight. "Thank you, Borja. I know that's not who you are, but you saved me."

For long moments the two sat holding each other. Finally, Valery's curiosity got the better of him. "The phone call? With Gorbachev?"

Boris laughed, a few stray tears still shining on his cheeks. "Trying to curb a scientist's curiosity is harder than getting a lunar rover! Alright, my love, I'll tell you our fate."

And so Boris outlined the terms of their relative freedom. He told Valery first about the loss of his Kurchatov position, not sure how he would react. But Valery seemed pretty nonplussed about the whole thing.

"Borja, not so long ago, I might have been upset. But I'm tired of being shunned, tired of not being able to publish my work. I enjoyed teaching, but I'll give it up if necessary."

Boris expected just as much protest at the next issue, his own job. This time Valery reacted as expected. "Oh, but Borja! You've worked at the Kremlin for much of your life! I'm so sorry! How dare they!?"

Boris shook his head. "I'm done with them. The way they've treated you, the amount of power given to the KGB in the past (although that might be changing), everything! I'm old, and I'm tired." (And I'm sick, he thought, but no point in stating what we both know.) "And the trade-off is well worth it."

"Trade-off, Borja?"

Now Boris could share the best part. He told Valery how they would not be harassed, how they could live together at his dacha, and all they had to do was lay low and not make waves. 

"What do you think, Valera? Can you live with those terms?". At Valery's beaming smile, he added, "It seems we've gotten off easy, eh Valery?"

*********************

(As the author here, I'd like to say they lived happily ever after...and they did, although not necessarily for too many more years. They were both sick, and there was no escaping that fact; but rest and eating well, not to mention being able to be with each other without constantly worrying about surveillance or consequences, worked wonders on both of them and both ended up living past Valery's predicted five years by a bit.

In 1993, Boris finally succumbed to lung cancer, but he was not in a lot of pain, and he had the most loving nurse anyone could have asked for. He died in Valery's embrace, happier than he had been much of his life. Of course, near the end, he worried about Valery being left alone, but both talked for hours about the issue, and he came to feel that Valery would be okay. Of course, Valery was heartbroken thinking about Boris' impending death, but he had come to grips with the fact that Boris was going to go first and dealt with the reality of it as best as could be expected.

After Boris' passing, Valery lived another fourteen months. (Probably giving up smoking, at Boris' behest and for the sake of Boris' failing health, had something to do with it.). He cried a lot, especially at first, but they were cleansing tears, and the joy of the last few years spent with Boris buoyed him past those times. On the anniversary of Chernobyl, and on October 5 (Boris' birthday), he drank a glass of vodka in honor of Boris' memory, and every week he put fresh flowers on Boris' grave. He suffered little pain near the end, the best salve being his memories of Boris. One night, while blissfully dreaming of Boris and himself, he passed peacefully in his sleep.)


End file.
